Overview of Basketball’s 2016 Recruiting Class and What Each Player Brings

With big commitments from both DeSean Murray and LaRon Smith earlier this week, Bruce Pearl should be done with the 2016 Auburn basketball recruiting class – barring any unexpected transfers or other roster moves. Tracking recruiting can be fun, but now that it’s over with for 2016, let’s take a look at what Auburn reeled in.

First and foremost, the obvious prize of this year’s recruiting class is 5-star shooting guard Mustapha Heron from Sacred Heart in Connecticut. Heron is the first 5-star basketball recruit that Auburn has ever landed and is probably the first of many for Bruce Pearl on the Plains.

Heron has flown slightly under the radar in most national recruiting rankings and has been left off of the roster for most of the major high school all-star games. However, in the few games that he has been invited to participate in, he’s been a star. Heron was awarded the MVP for the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic after scoring a game-high 32 points and leading his team to a victory. Heron also followed that up with another MVP performance at the BallIsLife All-American Game last weekend where he scored another game-high 31 points and led his team to another victory.

If you gather anything from his two all-star game performances mentioned above, Heron is an absolute scorer. Over the last few years, Auburn basketball hasn’t seen a multi-dimensional scorer quite like Heron can be and will be for the Tigers. At 6-foot-5, he’s big and physical enough to drive the ball to the basket and be aggressive throughout the game.

He has the ability to be a decent shooter at times, but I expect he’ll spend a majority of his possessions attacking the paint and looking to draw fouls and leave shooting to other teammates like Bryce Brown on the perimeter. Heron also adds a pretty good presence on the defensive end for Auburn, which is a rare trait for someone that scores the basketball as well as Heron does.

Next up for Auburn is 4-star point guard Jared Harper from Pebblebrook in Georgia. Harper has gained a little more recognition after a terrific summer last year, but is still slightly underrated in my mind.

He’s certainly a young guy that is capable of playing point guard for Auburn and could potentially be a starter towards the end of the season and in future seasons going forward. While he plays the point guard positions, Harper is almost always looking to score himself through a perimeter shot or a quick release inside.

At 5-foot-9 Harper has to use his quickness and speed to his advantage to make up for his lack of size. If Harper can add a few pounds once he gets to Auburn and learn to make shots with a little bit of contact, he can continue to be a point guard that can provide his fair share of points for the Tigers. I can see Harper being a surprise to some people in a similar fashion that Bryce Brown was this season, although Harper might have a few more skills coming in.

The final freshman in the 2016 class is 4-star power forward Anfernee McLemore from Worth County in Georgia. As a borderline 3/4-star recruit, McLemore hasn’t gotten a ton of praise from recruiting analysts, but he’s shown that he can stuff a stat sheet on occasion. McLemore will be yet another young defensive presence on the baseline that can develop into a nice shot blocker in the SEC. McLemore will server as a slight project, but has a lot to gain playing alongside Horace Spencer, Trayvon Reed, and now LaRon Smith. McLemore probably won’t come in and blow everyone away, but he will provide quality depth for the Tigers at a position that any basketball team can always use more able bodies.

Each of these three players will get to be apart of something special at Auburn over the coming seasons and add even more talent to an already young team with growing talent. Heron will be a star right away, and both Harper and McLemore have a chance to develop into good players for the Tigers in the next few seasons. These freshmen will be vital to the success over the coming seasons, but the players that can bring even more immediate impact and valuable experience are the three transfers that Auburn also has coming in as a part of the 2016 class.

First up on the transfer market, and probably the transfer that will make the most immediate impact, is graduate transfer point guard Ronnie Johnson from Houston via Purdue. At Purdue Johnson averaged over 10 points and almost 4 assists per game, and almost maintained those numbers at Houston as well. Like Tyler Harris from last season’s team, Johnson brings in valuable skill and much needed experience on an otherwise young basketball team. Especially at the point guard position, Johnson can help distribute the ball around to other play makers and should be capable of making smart decisions when Auburn needs him to step up. Along with Heron, I suspect Johnson to be one of the only locks to land a starting job in the fall.

Also eligible to play immediately for the Tigers is graduate transfer forward LaRon Smith from Bethune Cookman via Georgia State. Just like Johnson brings leadership and experience on the offensive end, Smith is an immediate asset on the defensive end. Smith was fourth in the nation last season with 3 blocks a game, as well as adding 7.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in just over 25 minutes of playing time per game.

Smith adds another fantastic shot blocker to play alongside Horace Spencer and Trayvon Reed, and will serve as another good example for Anfernee McLemore to learn from – at least on the defensive end. Smith could use a good bit of improvement on his offensive game, especially the free throw line, but it’s safe to say that Auburn will be looking at plenty of other options to score the basketball, and Smith can still find his role blocking shots and serving as a physical defender of the rim.

Last up for Auburn in the class of 2016 is sophomore transfer forward DeSean Murray from Presbyterian. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Murray will have to sit out a season before playing his final two years of eligibility starting in the 2017-2018 season. While Murray won’t get to display his talents this upcoming season, the reigning Big South leading scorer at over 20 points per game will be a valuable asset for the Tigers and should be worth the extra wait. I think Murray will add a nice offensive weapon in the front court to accompany defensive minded players like Horace Spencer and Anfernee McLemore. We’ll see how Murray develops in his year off the court, but as Kareem Canty showed in his partial season with the Tigers, some transfers can be worth the wait on the basketball court.

Some people think that there is still a possibility that Auburn lands Louisiana Tech transfer Merrill Holden who also visited this past weekend, but with our roster currently being full and Holden still planning to take visits to Iowa State and Illinois, I personally doubt that Auburn adds him as well. Holden didn’t have Auburn high on his list before the visit, and now that the roster is supposedly full, I don’t think he’ll end up picking us when he has offers and interest from Illinois, Iowa State, and a handful of other suitors.

I know I already made a “way too early” starting five prediction a few weeks ago, but with the addition of LaRon Smith and Ronnie Johnson that could likely change. I’ll be more confident with my prediction after I hear more about how players look during summer practices, but for now I think my starting five would be:

1. Ronnie Johnson
2. Mustapha Heron
3. Danjel Purifoy
4. Horace Spencer
5. Trayvon Reed

LaRon Smith would be really close to taking either Reed or Spencer’s spot and will likely split minutes pretty evenly with the two. Players like T.J. Dunans, TJ Lang, Bryce Brown, and Jared Harper should also see a good bit of playing time and can be great contributors off the bench.